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The St. Louis Blues will have to do without one of their top scorers until the post-season.

Vladimir Tarasenko will have surgery after he injured his right hand during Saturday’s 4-1 win against the Nashville Predators, the Blues announced Sunday. Projected recovery time is six weeks.

With the NHL regular season ending April 13 – and St. Louis sitting comfortably atop the standings – the 22-year-old will likely return during the playoffs and may even miss the first round.

Tarasenko is sixth in team scoring with 21 goals and 22 assists with a plus-20 rating in 64 games. He was in the midst of a five-game point streak.

With 15 games left on the schedule, the Blues lead the NHL with 99 points.

The team called up forward Dmitrij Jaskin from the AHL’s Chicago Wolves on an emergency basis.

LETANG CLEARED TO PRACTICE

Help is on the way for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Star defenceman Kris Letang and forward Beau Bennett have been cleared for full practice, the team announced Sunday. Both will hit the ice Monday, but there is no timetable for their return to the lineup.

Letang, you’ll recall, suffered a stroke on Jan. 29 that put his season in doubt. He was on blood thinners for six weeks as part of his treatment program, a period that ended Sunday.

“We had an idea that at this point in time he could possibly be cleared to practice,” head coach Dan Bylsma said via the team’s website. “He still has some other things to go through. He’s been working out, skating on his own and doing quite a bit on his own.

“To see Kris return to practice tomorrow will be a good thing for Kris, good thing for us.”

Bennett has been recovering from hand/wrist surgery after suffering the injury Nov. 22. He had a setback in late February.

Pittsburgh is still without star forwards James Neal (concussion) and Chris Kunitz (lower-body), who have both missed the last two games.

DOUBLE DOWN BROWN

It’s a double-double for Dustin Brown.

Not only is the Los Angeles Kings winger battling an illness, he’s also suffering from a lower-body injury, according to LA Kings Insider.

Brown apparently suffered the minor injury last week, which may explain why he was benched after about 10 minutes of ice time Thursday and scratched for Saturday’s game. He’s unlikely to start Monday’s game against the Phoenix Coyotes and his status for Thursday’s game against the Washington Capitals is up in the air.

Brown is also dealing with an unnamed illness, which kept him off the ice Sunday.

RECORD-BREAKING BISHOP

Ben Bishop has made his mark since joining the Tampa Bay Lightning last year. Now he’s in the club’s history books.

The 27-year-old recorded his franchise-record 31st win Saturday against the New Jersey Devils, a 3-0 shutout.

“It’s special,” Bishop told NHL.com. “It’s something I don’t really stop and think about right now; maybe at the end of the season. We’ve got some games left, so hopefully I can add to that. It’s a team thing; the guys in front of me, I wouldn’t be here without them.”

Bishop’s mark surpasses that of Nikolai Khabibulin, who won 30 games for the Lightning in the 2002-03 season. This is also Bishop’s first full season in Tampa Bay.

Bishop is 31-11-6 this season with a 2.10 goals-against average and .929 save percentage.

MAKE-UP DATE

A make-up date for the postponed game between the Dallas Stars and Columbus Blue Jackets following Rich Peverley’s collapse on the bench has been announced.

The game, originally scheduled March 10, will now be played April 9 and will be a 60-minute contest with a starting score of 1-0 in favour of Columbus.

The first game was halted 6:23 into the first period with the score 1-0 after a Nathan Horton goal. The decision to play a full game mirrors the league’s actions after Jiri Fischer’s collapse on Nov. 21, 2005.